For my anniversary with my boyfriend, Andrew, I tried replicating a drawing he drew for me when we first started dating. I wasn't sure how I would make the background at first, but I liked the amigurumi idea so much that I just had to crochet the penguin and pig. I based my pig using this Lionbrand pattern. The penguin pattern I actually made on my own as I went along using this cute penguin picture I found as a reference. I had a hard time getting the head and body proportion right and being the perfectionist that I am, it took me an extremely long time to finish it. The penguin actually turned out looking decent, not as cute as I hoped but I didn't have a lot of time to be picky. At least making the chococat was good practice before I started on making this gift.

As I was making the penguin and pig, I had the idea of putting them in a shadow box. I got this wonderful idea of a DIY shadow box while searching online. Unfortunately, I couldn't find a plain gift box small, deep and sturdy enough to cut out, but I did find a Sephora gift box lying around which turned out to be just as good. Cutting a frame out of the backside of the box was out of the question because the cardboard was too thick.



Instead, I cut the center of the Sephora box out along the curves of the lids and also cut out a rectangle window from one of the sides. I placed yellow plastic wrap over the window before covering the entire box with blue felt. The window was bordered with fabric stickers from my scrapbooking collection.

I was crunched on time for decorating the box, so I just cut out Andrew's name from felt and glued it on the front. So much for creativity, eh? Ohwells..
I also added two buttons and yellow ribbons for closing the box. On the back side, I added a sketched picture of the two of us from Chuckee Cheese's.

For the interior, I found a photograph of a beautiful sunrise online and had it printed and cut for the background. I used light blue felt for the side and top walls and added cotton for clouds. The light brown felt turned out great for mimicking a sandy beach, and I added my own special touch with the heart. As for the quote, I came across it from a wedding invitation verse. I was so happy that it fitted the theme of my gift so well!

"The love we share today
Shines from sunrise to sunrise
Growing brighter, year to year
As we share our lives."

Amigurumi is a Japanese term for knitting or crocheting stuffed animals. Apparently, it has gotten a lot of hype in recent years outside of Japan and there's been several books published in English on how to make amigurumi dolls. I thought they were absolutely adorable and couldn't help but make one myself. So I went and bought some crochet hooks and yarns from Joann's and started learning crocheting from some online tutorials. It took me awhile to get the hang of it but it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.

Making the Chococat amigurumi was pretty spontaneous, and it was mainly because I was already practicing crocheting in black yarn. It took me a very long time to get the proportion right for him. I initially made the body to be much smaller than his head to fit his image, but it would've made him look awkward sitting down and there won't be enough support for his large head. His head also came out to be a lot rounder than it should be too. =\ But overall, I was pretty satisfied with the results and very proud of it as a first attempt at crocheting. I even took him around with me on campus for the day and randomly took a picture of him in a shrub for my phone. Haha. Hopefully, I'll have time to make more amigurumi dolls soon! I'm already planning out what I'll make next. My goal is to make more mascots! =D

Chococat and Mashimaro Rivalry?!?! O.o